Violet: Nobility & Wisdom
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day ninety-nine: COLORS #9 April counsels Rachel on the perils of being at the top.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third and fourth cycle. Now here comes cycle 5!_

_Found this list I had a while back, of colors and connotations, and I decided to make a series around it! So...  
**Colors of Glee: 9 of 12:** Violet: Nobility & Wisdom_

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**"Violet: Nobility & Wisdom"  
Rachel & April**

It was not a stretch to say they had gotten off to a rough start. But then there really was no other way for it to have gone. They were both of a mind that wished to be held in the highest regards, and had been, for most of their lives… within their field. A clash of titans… divas… Glee Club powerhouses.

In one corner, the queen of McKinley's early nineties, the blonde belter, April Rhodes. And in the other, the newcomer, the challenger, the sophomore storm, Rachel Berry.

Granted, Rachel was not of the Glee Club when April was brought in. It was her departure which had made Will reach out to her. For Rachel, April was the usurper to her throne, corrupting the kingdom, where to April she was the poor fool who'd gotten up out of that spotlight.

It was not long before they both realized… they were not where they were supposed to be. It was their dream, of course: For Rachel, a chance to shine, a leading role; for April, a chance to polish her dulled star. But just as much as they wanted it, the fact became that this was not the right place, the right time. Rachel belonged back in Glee, and April had to find her own way. She'd left their lives, perhaps never to be seen again.

That wasn't so. Shortly after Sectionals, Rachel was out to get a few things from the grocery store, sent by Pop, and as she turned in to the frozen foods section, her cart clashed noisily into another.

"Sorry, I didn't…" she flinched before looking up. Her eyes grew wider, then relaxed, as she saw who it was she'd bumped into.

"Hey, I know you…" the blonde spoke cheerfully.

"Miss Rhodes," Rachel nodded.

"April," she corrected cheerfully. "You're Rachel, yes?" she nodded, and April smiled. "How are you? I heard about you kids winning Sectionals." Again, Rachel nodded. "Well congratulations," she beamed. Rachel still had trouble turning off awkward-mode.

"Thank you, M… April," she replied. She was about to excuse herself and move on, when April made an invitation.

"Hey, if you're not busy right now, would you like to stop over at that little café across the street? I'd really like to get a chance to talk to you again," April smiled. Rachel hesitated, but finally she agreed.

After they had finished their shopping, Rachel and April made their way to the café, sitting across from one another. April ordered coffee; Rachel wasn't thirsty.

"I don't usually take my coffee like this. Well, I have, I mean… the last little while…" she nodded.

"How… how did you take it before?" Rachel managed to ask.

"I…" April chuckled lightly, looking down. "Irish," she looked to Rachel, who nodded slowly, looking down as well. "So I guess it all turned out fine in the end, didn't it," she spoke before taking a sip of her coffee. "I mean, you're happy to be back in Glee Club?"

"Yes," Rachel gave a smile, as April seemed to wander off into dreams and memories.

"It was the best time of my life… you know the way people talk about you now, they used to talk about me like that… hard to believe how long it's been…" she sighed. Rachel smiled, knowing exactly the feeling she spoke about; she could see it in her eyes.

"Do you miss it a lot?" April smiled wistfully, nodded to herself.

"I had all these chances on my side, I thought… I was unstoppable. It turned out I wasn't exactly right about that last part."

"You can't say that," Rachel shook her head. "I've heard you sing…"

"You're a sweet kid. You've got that over young April Rhodes," she pointed at herself before turning her wrist to point her finger at Rachel. "Don't lose that." Rachel nodded.

"How was it… when you were in Glee Club?" she asked with curiosity.

"Different, the same… we all have the same dream, it's just the rest that changes. The styles, the costumes…"

"We saw those," Rachel smirked.

"Oh they were all the rage back then, but looking back, what were we thinking…" she wondered dramatically, and they both laughed.

"What about Mr. Schuester?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't remember him," she admitted. "I wasn't the most attentive person when it came to people who weren't me, which I knew; I assumed it," she nodded. "Plus, you know," she made the 'I was drinking' motion. Rachel smiled shyly. "But you know, what I got to see… he really cares about all of you kids in there."

"He really does," Rachel nodded.

"You stick with him, he won't do you wrong. And then you might end up where you're supposed to be… where I was supposed to be," April smiled. Rachel nodded in understanding.

After the two had gone their separate ways, Rachel had been left to think. Her second dose of April Rhodes had been very different from her first, no doubt due to how April had changed since then. She was still the same person she'd been before, in a lot of ways… but she had learned from being with Glee Club again, and Rachel could see that too.

She'd been made curious by the encounter, she had to admit. Ever dutiful to Glee, she had obliged that curiosity and gone to the library and checked out old Glee videos from 1993. She'd spent a moment… or three… amused by seeing Mr. Schuester at her age.

Watching young April, she did see a lot of herself in her. She wondered how she had ended up where she had… what she'd told her stayed with her. She wanted to make it, didn't want to end up like her… she was right though… with Mr. Schuester, she could count on some hope.

THE END


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